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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Well not today... it's Saturday now, but yesterday I tuned two little spinet pianos for a small pentecostal church. I tuned them six months ago. On their last tuning both required large pitch raises, as well as adjusting lost motion and regluing a few hammers, and generally tightening screws here and there. One is a Whitney(made by Kimball), and the other is a Hastings.

They are both played at the same time for church services. I was fully expecting to have to do another pitch raise yesterday, but was very surprised to find not one but both piano very close to pitch. Many notes were right on.

Finished almost a couple of days work cleaning out, shaping/voicing, and regulation on a 1956 Knabe 5'4" grand which I had rebuilt back in 2004. It is still sounding great, although it really had needed this attention for a couple of years. The church now uses it as their choir rehearsal room piano.

It's always good to revisit previous jobs that came out especially well, as did this one. I will probably do a little more needling the next time I tune it. The year before doing the work I had proposed rebuilding this one to keep in their sanctuary, but they decided to buy a new Yamaha C3 for that, PLUS rebuild this one, so now I enjoy tuning two nice pianos!

I capped off the long second day with a tuning for a new customer of a very worn Samick grand, and a Baldwin L, then a 80-minute drive home - a twelve hour Friday. Lucrative, but too long for a Friday!

Tuned a console to A-445. That was the pitch of the lady's accordian. Hey, why not?

Imagine how sharp that piano will be come the middle of August!

I thought about that. It hadn't been tuned in about 12 years and was 50 cents low. So... it will probably drop some, anyhow... I hope. It isn't an ancient piano and there was a fair amount of elasticity left in the strings.

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Jeff DeutschlePart-Time TunerWho taught the first chicken how to peck?

Solved a funny little mystery. Tuned a teacher's piano, a regular customer. Some of the keys became unevenly spaced. She noticed some in particular and one day she caught a young student prying two keys even further apart. Humph! When trying to space them better, they started jambing, Hmmm... Removed the keys and found a quarter. Ahah! The kid must have lost the quarter and was trying to get it back.

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Jeff DeutschlePart-Time TunerWho taught the first chicken how to peck?

Tuned a Lester Spinet for a church. It was donated...need I say more. Actually it ended up okay. It has the plastic elbows but they were all intact and none broke while I was tuning so...maybe they were made on a good day. Many pins were squishy so I did a CA glue treatment and it sounded pretty good (for a Lester Spinet).

I went from low to a high. I then tuned a new Yamaha GB1. I really like them. It needed a pitch raise but that wasn't a big deal. I used Tunic on it and it really sang when I was done. A nice ending to the day.

I have not done any tuning so far playing today, but starting this evening, I have shows every evening through Sunday, plus an additional two shows Friday and Saturday, and a recording session Monday morning.

Will be tuning a brand new Estonia grand today that Cunningham in Philly delivered yesterday to a local HS for it's dedication concert tomorrow. I'll do a courtesy touch-up before the concert. They've been saving up for it for years.

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Jeff DeutschlePart-Time TunerWho taught the first chicken how to peck?

I hope not, but I did not have enough time to check them out. My tuning time was interrupted by a photo shoot, and the piano had not been as well tuned as I had hoped. It held pretty well in spite of that, and the pianist is pretty hard on pianos. I remember the first time I tuned for her. The guys at the theater told me that she was just a little girl who does not play very hard, but I knew them well enough to know they could not be trusted. I should have more time with the piano today. She is playing for four days.

I pull the action of a mouse-ridden Baldwin M grand. Droppings are everywhere. Then I notice what I first think are empty roach casings. (This is just getting better and better!)

I keep cleaning and work on a stiff key, preparing to get things back together, when, ... there it is: On the floor lies a completely dried, gutted dead mouse. Judging by the stains to the left of the action near the back of the compartment, the mouse had been digested there. When I pulled the action, the remains pulled out with it. I just didn't see it until later.

That's when I figured out what those translucent little empty brown capsules were: There were multiple empty maggot casings where flies had bred.

I pull the action of a mouse-ridden Baldwin M grand. Droppings are everywhere. Then I notice what I first think are empty roach casings. (This is just getting better and better!)

I keep cleaning and work on a stiff key, preparing to get things back to gether, when, ... there it is: On the floor lies a completely dried, gutted dead mouse.

That's when I figured out what those translucent little empty brown capsules were: There were multiple empty maggot casings where flies had bred.Comes with the territory sometimes.

I once had a customer complain of sticking keys. Come to find out, mice had been living in the piano. It was their droppings in between the keys that was causing them to stick. (It's surprising how often that happens here in rural southeast Missouri). The mice had also been storing dog food inside the piano. I spent over an hour cleaning out mice droppings and dog food out of every nook and cranny.

I once tuned a Steinway Upright from the 1880's. I don't know if this was factory or not, but the back of the piano was completely covered with screen. I thought this was a revolutionary idea and would keep the mice out. I wonder why more pianos don't have this feature.

I once tuned a Steinway Upright from the 1880's. I don't know if this was factory or not, but the back of the piano was completely covered with screen. I thought this was a revolutionary idea and would keep the mice out. I wonder why more pianos don't have this feature.

I've worked on many old uprights with the screen in the back. Some of them even make a pleasant, metallic buzzing sound

One had a small tear in the bottom corner, allowing the mice to build an apartment complex between the screen and soundboard.

In contrast, the 243 I mentioned above had openings at each back lower corner of the sound board big enough that Sylvester should have come in right behind the mice for some lunch, but obviously never did.